Fake It or Take it
by Kai Hart
Summary: Hermione is caught in the middle of something she just doesn't understand, and Draco is involved. What lengths will she go to to find out what she needs to know? Read and find out!
1. DisclaimerClaimer

Disclaimer

Oh…stupid me…I almost forgot to remind y'all that my real name is not J.K. Rowling, and that I did NOT invent, create, or help in the birthing of the glorious brainchild that is Harry Potter. There, there's my disclaimer. MUAH! Love to you all!

Claimer

But…this plot is definitely mine! Lol! Thank you! **X**'s and **O**'s


	2. Final Farewells

**Final Goodbyes**

Summer had been fun. Hermione had been just recently been on yet another ski trip with her parents. This year, she had successfully conquered the small slope, but wasn't sure if next year she would even attempt the larger one. It was nearly 20 feet taller, and the slope was much steeper. Her father, on the other hand, had nearly beat out one of the record holders for furthest jump, but was just short because of an impending tree. Hermione shook her head and smiled. He was still recovering from a fractured arm and broken nose. He was fortunate she had been there. She was able to help heal several of his other injuries before the ski-sled ambulance arrived. She was fortunate she had just turned seventeen, seeing as it would have been impossible for her to help him had she still been under the underage wizarding restriction. She was a bit embarrassed when she had to accompany him back up the slope on the emergency vehicle, but was proud of him for trying all the same. Her father wasn't the most coordinated of people, but she knew that he loved her and her mother, and that was all that mattered.

Hermione looked around her room. It was just as she had left it. The bed was made neatly, the curtains were drawn, and only a thin layer of dust rested on her mantle, even though she had been absent for nearly two weeks. She set her suitcase on her bed. It barely weighed ten pounds; thanks to a weight-reducing spell she had learned after reading a large book called, Useful Spells and their incantations. She breathed deeply, enjoying the smell of her own home for a moment. After all, she would be leaving again tomorrow for Hogwarts. She wished that her parents had scheduled the trip for earlier in the summer, so as to give her some time to rest before jumping on the train to school. But, she was looking forward to seeing Harry and Ron again, and was desperately missing having something to do. During her time at home, when her parents were working, she had nothing to do. They had a tv, but she found it recently to be more bothersome and noisy than anything. (That and she hadn't been able to figure out the new remote that her father had bought quite yet.) She pulled herself from her thoughts, and decided to have a quick afternoon snack before beginning to unpack, clean, and repack again. She went downstairs, and opened the refrigerator door only to find that since they had been gone on vacation her mother had failed to buy groceries. All that was left was a jar of pickles and some bread that was in the cabinet. She decided that a pickle sounded like it would hold her over, and ate it before heading back up to her room. It tasted a bit tart for her liking, but she wasn't one to complain about such trivial things.

Once in her room again, she opened her luggage and removed all the clothes and various trip necessities from her bag. With a quick wave of her wand and an incantation just as brief, all her clothes were spotless and folded into neat, divided stacks. She smiled and stretched. Mrs. Weasley had taught her that particular charm last summer. Hermione had informed her that she would be staying in the house mostly by herself this year, and so Mrs. Weasley had taught her a few household charms to practice for amusement. It was nice to see that she was already getting them down. After a few minutes of practicing a levitation charm by making her neatly stacked clothes fly swiftly, accurately, and efficiently into her suitcase, she grew tired. The long weeks and endless running to and fro had worn her out. With a flick of her wrist, the suitcase shut and locked itself, and then proceeded to upright itself next to her bedroom door. She changed into her pajamas, which ironically, were red and scarlet and had Emc2 printed all over them. Her time spent stitching all those hats and socks for the house elves in the past year had definitely given her the edge in making clothes of any kind. It had become a sort of hobby, and her talent had blossomed well. She crawled into her bed, and was out like a light in a few minutes time.

Hermione woke up the next morning to the delicious smell of French toast. She smiled and got up to walk down stairs. She could hear her mother and father talking in the kitchen. They were laughing and having fits of hysteria. They were probably talking about her father's ski trip accident. It was quite funny to look back on when no one was in any immediate danger. She stretched when she got to the bottom of the stairs, and sighed before breaking in. She opened the door to see them both smiling at her when she entered.

"Morning Darling." Her mother said, and she gave her a hug and kissed her on the forehead.

"Good morning mother." She replied, hugging her back and smiling. She walked over to her father and smiled at him. It seemed like she couldn't wipe it off. He rubbed her bushy hair, and also kissed her on the forehead saying,

"Bonjuor mademoiselle." She smiled even broader, if it was physically possible.

"Bonjuor." She replied.

"Did you make us French toast?" she asked. Her father had always been an excellent chef. Many times she had suggested that he make a career of it, and every time he would say that cooking should be left to the professionals.

"No. I _would_ have made it, but…well…we have nothing to cook with." he said with a shrug.

"So where…?" but her mother cut her off.

"IHOP." She said with a smile, holding up a to-go bag.

Hermione smiled, grabbed a plate, and started eating with great gusto, discussing some minor issues with the winter break. It seemed like in no time at all, the blissful attitude of the house had shrunk away into hiding.

"Honey, I just don't know how we're going to make it work this year." Her mother said, stirring her coffee. "With all our schedules the way they are this Christmas…" she could tell that her mother was having a hard time saying it. She knew how important Christmas was to her, and she knew it would be hard.

"Its ok mom. I understand. It can't hurt for one Christmas, can it?" she said as comfortingly as she could. Personally, she was upset about it, but she wasn't one to complain when other people were already having a hard time. Her whining would just make things rougher than they were already.

"We're so proud of you honey." Her parents beamed at her and her mother gave her a hug and sent her off upstairs to get ready to leave. Hermione reached her room door and walked in to change. After she was done putting on her usual blue jeans, fitted tee, and blue jacket, she looked at herself in the mirror. She took a deep breath and made sure she looked composed before going down. She only allowed herself one tear before wiping it away and levitating her bag downstairs along side her. When she reached the bottom of the stairs her parents were talking amongst themselves, and smiled when they saw her coming down. Together they loaded up their family Subaru, and backed out of the driveway, headed for the station. She took one more look back before turning her eyes to the road ahead. No turning back now.


	3. So We Meet Again

**Chapter 2**

The train station seemed to be three times more packed than usual, and everyone and their dog seemed to be running late for something. People were flying past with carts like it was a demolition derby of some sort. Her father was knocked down twice. Once by a young boy, only a stitch taller than Hermione, who was running past and clipped her father's shoulder, causing them both to go sprawling in every which way, but he was gone before they had the chance to confront him. The second time, it was entirely his own fault. He was walking behind her mother, and hadn't seen the train attendant's foot, (for she was standing in a very odd position), and tripped over it clumsily. They all laughed about it, and it made for good dispositions when they said their goodbyes. Hermione gave her parents final farewells and walked through the wall onto Platform 9 ¾.

As she pushed her cart through slews of nervous students and eager parents, she saw the two she had been waiting to see since school let out. Yes, she had written them, and they had written back, but writing just couldn't match a face-to-face conversation. She pushed her cart towards them, and seemed to come up right in the middle of a very important conversation.

"Call me chicken but no. I don't care what you say." He said, folding his arms across his chest as if it were his final answer. She just sighed. Ron could be persuaded into anything, but it was amusing watching him trying to resist sometimes.

"If you don't, it'll be too late, and you'll have lost your only shot. She'll be taken later on." Harry countered. Hermione had gathered enough of the conversation to know that Ron had a crush on someone, but she was having a hard time figuring out who. _Lavender perhaps_? She discarded her thoughts for pondering later, and strolled up next to Ron.

"Hullo. How was your summer?" she asked smiling.

"Great." Harry said as he smiled and leaned forward to hug her. She laughed and hugged him back, though Ron just looked a bit awkward. When they had let go, she turned to Ron, ad wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Good to see you Ron." She said smiling and letting go. He seemed to be in a sort of vegetative state. He was just kind of looking at her blankly, like he was trying to figure out what to do next. Harry nudged him in the arm with his elbow.

"Um, yeah. You too Hermione." He said stiffly, after being snapped back to reality by Harry.

"Are you ill, Ron?" she asked putting a hand to his forehead. His face turned a bright shade of red that clashed with his hair.

"You're burning up, and your face is extremely flushed." She said. "I can give you something once we've settled into our compartment." She added decisively, leading the two boys away from where they were standing towards one of the train's many doors. They walked down the hallway, only to find that, like every year, all the compartments had been taken. _Of course…_she thought. They looked to find the least populated one, which consisted of only two other people. By the looks of them, they were first years, but you could never really be sure sometimes. Hermione led the way to their compartment, and took a deep breath before opening the sliding door.

"Hullo. My name is Hermione Granger. This is Ron and Harry." She said motioning politely to the two boys behind her.

"All of the other compartments are full. Would you mind if we sat here?" Harry interjected. Both boys looked at them. They were twins. Hermione had definitely not seen that one coming, and it took a second to recover her voice.

"Sure. Go ahead." one of the boys said with an amiable grin and making room for them to sit. The other boy just looked them up and down once, and returned to looking out the window. The three sat down in turn. Hermione and Harry sat down next to the boy who had spoken, while Ron on the other hand, had to sit next to the quiet twin. He looked extremely nervous, and even a bit scared of the boy.

"My name's Cage." The chatty boy said, offering his hand to them all in turn.

"This is my brother Tristin. He doesn't talk much." He added, looking towards his sibling. The boy didn't respond in the slightest, even at the mention of his name. He seemed zoned out. Harry and Ron looked like they were entirely unsure about what to do, but Hermione piped up.

"Hello Tristin." The boy suddenly turned around, looked at her, and nodded. Cage seemed to be a bit embarrassed by his brother's behavior, his face turning a light shade of pink, ad giving his brother a less-than-loving glare our of the corner of his eye.

"It's alright." Hermione responded, smiling at the quiet boy. Silence wasn't always so bad. Maybe Ron should try it sometime. He would make himself look so much smarter. The boy turned back to the window, but she could have sworn that she saw a smile creeping to the corner of his mouth. Quite suddenly, a loud beeping noise filled the compartment. Harry, Ron, Cage and Tristin jumped simultaneously in surprise. Ron yelped loudly, and looked around frantically.

"Honestly…" Hermione said, rolling her eyes. "It's time for our prefect meeting." She said looking up at Ron, and silencing the alarm on her watch. She knew the alarm wouldn't work once she got on the grounds, but that was no reason not to be prepared for the train ride. She stood up abruptly and opened the door, only to find Ron staring at her blankly and confused. He looked like he wanted to say something, but couldn't get it out. He was stalling. She knew that he didn't want to go. He had never really appreciated his role as a prefect, and had always slacked on his duties. She thought that he secretly hoped to be kicked off.

"Please excuse us, Cage, Tristin. Oh do come on Ron, we're going to be late." She said apologizing for their sudden departure and grabbing Ron by the wrist and pulling him out the door with her.

"Hermione…" he groaned as she shut the door behind them and began walking down the train corridor.

"What is this time Ronald?" she asked, turning around abruptly with her hands on her hips and tapping her foot.

"What if Malfoy's there?" he asked, not meeting her eyes for more than a moment at a time.

"Honestly. Who cares if that insensitive little cockroach is there?" she said haughtily, shifting her weight from one foot to the other giving him a skeptical look.

"Well…" he began, but then rethought what he was about to say and stood up straighter. He was really quite taller than she remembered. "Well, I don't think I can keep myself from hexing him if he does anything stupid." He said, puffing out his chest a little. Hermione almost laughed in his face.

"Ron, you couldn't hex a spider, much less Malfoy." She said, rolling her eyes and dragging him along behind her down the corridor once again.

"But I don't like Spiders…" he whined in an attempted reasoning.

"Are you trying to tell me you like Malfoy?" she asked incredulously, and turning to look at him, (still walking forward), even though she knew he didn't. She just wanted him to think about what he said. Normally he didn't, and it was usually of some level of annoyance to her. Ron screwed up his face, and looked like he was about to say something important, but all that came out of his mouth was a small "No."

"No one likes Malfoy Ron. He has no real friends." She said finally, turning around, only to run into to someone who was a good bit taller than herself. Her face went straight into their chest, and by that alone she could tell that it was a boy.

"I'm so sorry." she said, rubbing her nose and looking around. "I wasn't…" but her voice trailed off when she saw who it was. Her slight embarrassed smile disappeared, but the rosy shade of pink on her cheeks did not. She let go of Ron's arm abruptly, and let her hands fall to her sides.

"Why don't you watch where you're going Granger? Too busy making eyes at Weaslebee I suppose." Draco Malfoy scoffed, wiping invisible dirt from the chest of his robes. It seemed he had already changed for arrival. He mugged the two of them down with a smirk.

"I'm sorry to be the one to inform you of the fact that Ronald and I are _not_ going out, and you'll do well to remember that." Hermione countered calmly, but with a warning glint in her eyes.

"It gets pretty pathetic when you're so poor that your own girlfriend won't claim you." he copped. "Even if she is a filthy little mudblood." He snapped quickly with a very smug and triumphant smirk they had seen many times before. Ron stood very still and rigid.

"Shove off Malfoy." He said through gritted teeth, with an anger that Hermione had not yet heard in his voice.

"No. Why don't you? Filth like you don't belong at this school anyway." He said, suddenly very serious and looking back and forth between the two of them. Ron stayed silent, but Hermione was far from done saying what she had to say.

"Hogwarts is a school for all students. Not just jerks like you." she said, squaring her shoulders up to him. Draco made a face of mock hurt.

"Oh, a jerk am I? Somehow, I don't feel all that horrible about it." he gritted, looking around airily. _Great…now they were all late for the meeting._ Hermione heard Ron shifting behind her, and turned to find him digging frantically in the inside pocket of his robes. But Draco was faster.

"Don't even think about it Weasley." He threatened with his wand pointed directly between Hermione's eyes. Ron stopped digging immediately and kept his gaze moving back and forth between the tip of Malfoy's wand and Hermione's face. She had been very caught off guard by the whole ordeal and had to take several deep breaths too keep her cool. She stood there, very still, eyes narrowed at Draco, and Ron behind her. She considered her options. She could:

Stand there quietly, let Ron do all the talking and get hexed….

Try to take Malfoy's wand away from him and get hexed or…

Talk this out logically with Draco and only possibly get hexed.

Seeing as 'C' was the only choice that involved her possibly skimming away without getting hexed into next week, she thought it to be the best course of action. But she couldn't speak in sensible terms to Malfoy with Ron there. Logical thought seemed to be just out of his reach in most cases, and would most likely open his very big mouth right at the most inopportune moment. Hermione turned her head slightly to look over her shoulder at the redheaded boy behind her.

"Ron, I need you to leave so I can have a chat with Malfoy." She stated calmly, although she knew he would have something to say. She just hoped it wasn't too offensive to Draco. She wasn't exactly comfortable with her current position.

"You can't be serious…" he began, but a quick silencing glare from Hermione that he had not seen before forced him to bite his tongue. For a moment he seemed to just stand there in shock. It was like he was completely frozen from head to toe. Then, after he shut his mouth, it seemed like he was actually thinking it over. He slowly turned and tromped back down the corridor they had come from towards their compartment. No doubt he was going to tell Harry. "Right crazy bird." He muttered as he stalked away, arms stiff at his sides.


	4. The Deal

**Chapter 3**

Hermione turned back to face Draco with a very unfazed look on her face. The wand was still aimed straight between her eyes. She looked from the tip of his wand up to his piercing gray eyes.

"You won't need that. You can put it away." She said quickly and calmly. The most important thing was to stay calm. She elevated her eyebrows slightly, and rested her hands on her hips. Malfoy seemed to be agonizing over whether or not to hex her, but eventually decided upon the latter.

"What do you want you filthy mudblood?" he asked with a certain bit of sting on the last word. Hermione rolled her eyes before speaking and shifted her weight to the other foot.

"First of all, this name-calling business has _got_ to come to an end. You're making yourself sound like a first year for goodness sakes." She said firmly, gauging his reaction. When he refused to respond and just looked at her silently, she figured that she must have been making some progress if he didn't feel up to making some snide quip. She took it as a good sign and continued on. "Secondly, if we're all to share the prefect's duties and special privileges, we really must find some medium between hate and more hate. If not for ourselves, for the sake of setting a good example for the younger years." She finished. Maybe approaching this logically really was the way to go. He seemed to actually be absorbing some of what she was saying. He looked like he was turning it over in his mind. "Let's try to start this over. For the better. Agreed?" she pressed, hoping to actually get an answer this time. Really any kind of response would do. She held out her hand. Draco looked at it skeptically and made a motion to take it. But quickly, before their hands touched, he pulled his back and folded his arms across his chest.

"Sorry Granger, but I don't make deals with know-it-all half breeds." He said in his most cocky tone. Hermione wanted to hex him with a charm that would make his ears ring for months, but she somehow managed to suppress the urge. Well…she controlled her physical self. Her mind was yelling all sorts of obscene things at him. She could hear it now. _Why you evil, conniving, heartless, loathsome, little ferret!_ _Your brain must be the size of a dung beetle, and if you looked in the mirror every once in a while you would realize that that particular bleach blonde color of dead animal perched upon your head actually makes you uglier than you already are! _Hermione dropped her hand. Draco turned around to walk away with a very smug grin on his face. Hermione had to use every ounce of self-control to not hex him right then and there. But then, as if suddenly struck by a jinx of some sort, he turned around flashing one of his more charming smiles. "But you know Granger…I might be willing to make an exception. Just for you of course." He added hastily but casually. Hermione narrowed her eyes at him. He must want something.

"Oh spit it out. What do you want Malfoy?" she asked snappily, bitterness still coating her tone. She wondered what his undersized brain had managed to come up with this time.

"Well, seeing as you make top marks in Transfiguration…" he started, rubbing his chin as if he were trying to decide how to phrase what he wanted to say. But Hermione cut him off before he could begin again.

"You want me to write your papers for you in exchange for your civility." Draco shrugged as if he was leaving the decision up to her. She searched herself. Could she really do that? Could she really cheat? Then she thought about Professor McGonagall. She was her favorite teacher. How could she betray her trust like that? She then thought about Ron and Harry. Draco was always teasing Ron about his family, and she knew Ron hated it. She could tell by the way he froze every time Draco mentioned anything even remotely close to his parents or money. She could tell by the look in his eyes every time it happened. That alone made her want to take the deal.

"Do we have a deal Granger?" he interrupted her thoughts as he extended his hand to her. She looked at it as if it would bite her. Never in her life would she have seen him offering his hand out to her. But now he was. She looked him in the eye once more. Then, as if her body took control before her brain could catch up, she reached out and took his hand. Draco let an evil smile cross his lips. She had seen many smirks from him, but this was different. It wasn't a smirk of hate or happiness. It was a smirk of pure conquest. Total domination. Hermione didn't like it at all, and it slightly put her on edge. They released hands with new roles. He was agreeing to obey the rules while she was agreeing to break them. They abruptly turned their backs to each other. Both left the way they had come and preceded back to their respective compartments.


	5. Tension

**Chapter 4**

After arriving at Hogwarts and going through the sorting ceremony, Hermione was quite thoroughly exhausted. Ginny and some of the other younger Gryffindor girls begged her to stay up and play an initiating game of truth or dare with them, but she flatly refused anyone who asked. She tried to be nice about it at first, but after being asked by 20 different people, her patience and tolerance wore a thin. She fell asleep almost immediately after hitting her mattress. She pulled her curtains shut, and drifted into dreams. She woke up with a royal headache. Transfigurations was first thing. And go figure, they had class with Slytherin this year. She got dressed and made her bed neatly before heading downstairs. She found Ron and Harry there waiting for her. Ron wouldn't look at her, and seemed as though he was only being held there by the fact that Harry was intent on waiting for her.

"Morning." Harry said with a smile as she came down. He seemed to be having an awfully good week. Ron said nothing, even after Harry nudged him violently in the ribs. He just glared back at him and kept his mouth shut.

"Morning." Hermione replied in a weary tone. "Breakfast?" she asked, with a slight elevation of her eyebrows. Even Ron had to nod at that. He was always hungry, even after he'd just eaten and claimed to be full. It was as if he were a human garbage disposal. The trio walked down to the Great Hall, forcing conversation the whole way. Harry seemed eager to talk about his summer so no one stopped him. Something about Dudley getting beat up or something of the sort. Ron stayed quiet with the exception of a comment or two about quidditch with Harry, and Hermione mainly just listened. Once they reached the Great Hall, they could see that it was uncommonly crowded. It seemed like there were more people there than ever. Maybe it was just her drowsiness, but it seemed to be twice as loud as well.

"Noisy first years." Ron grumbled above the noise. Hermione just made a face and looked for a free spot at the Gryffindor table. There wasn't enough room for the three for them to sit together, so she told them that she had some last minute studying to do before class. Knowing her to be one to study before she had even received the assignment, neither of the refuted the possibility. Harry just looked at her with an incredulous look, and Ron didn't look at her at all, but pretended instead to be interested in the Ravenclaw table in the opposite direction. Hermione waved goodbye, and weaved her way through a group of giggling girls, looking in Malfoy's direction.

"He's so cute."

"I love his hair!"

"I wonder if he's single?"

"Totally gorgeous!"

"I bet he's a good kisser!" she heard a few of them saying as she made her way through. The last one caught her off-guard. She rolled her eyes after the initial shock of hearing it. What girls saw in him, she'd never understand. She continued her way until she found a relatively quiet spot near the center of the hall where a few seventh years were sitting sipping coffee. She supposed they'd snuck some out of the kitchens earlier, but by the looks of them, she couldn't imagine they had been awake all that long. Half of them looked as if they were about to fall asleep in their mugs. In all honesty, she had no desire to carry on a conversation, so she wasn't complaining. She had been in a funk ever since the train ride, and couldn't seem to get out of the rut. She sat down, grabbing a bagel and some cream whip. She buttered one half and then began eating as she opened one of her books and started reading. She heard the crowd of girls give a particularly loud swoon as she continued reading, shaking her head. She looked at her bagel. It was quite delicious. She would have to send the working elves a letter of thanks later. She was enjoying the time of reading and eating her bagel. She gaggle of girls wailed even louder, but she couldn't be less bothered, other than a peculiar ringing in her ear that she had just acquired.

She had just come to an especially interesting part in her book when a shadow settled over her current page. She sighed and attempted to turn around, only to come face to face with Malfoy. No wonder the girls had been so loud. He had walked directly through them to get to her. He leaned in close to her but refrained from invading her personal space.

"Haven't forgotten our deal have you Granger?" he asked with a familiar smirk. Hermione was entirely surprised by the encounter, but restrained her urge to yell in surprise.

"No. In fact, I was just thinking about it." she lied. "You haven't forgotten your end of the bargain?" she asked with an uncharacteristic pop of her left eyebrow and tilt of her head. Draco smile broadened, if it was possible.

"No I have not." He said cordially, as if he were only going through some kind of business transaction.

"Good." She said, shutting her book and standing up abruptly.

"Good." He replied, taking a good look at her before offering her his arm. Hermione just looked at him like he was insane. Was this some kind of joke?

"What are you doing?" she asked with a disgusted look on her face.

"Let's call it, protecting my investments." He said with a curl of his lips. It was like a natural reaction for him in a lot of cases.

"Thanks, but I don't need your protection." She said as she stomped off and out of the Great Hall. She had to pass through the same group of girls who had been watching them and whispering things the entire time. She heard some nasty comments she was sure she wasn't intended to hear as she passed and left Draco standing there with an evil smirk on his face. What was he up to? It seemed like his whole intention was to be mean and condescending without actually being that way. He was more clever than she gave him credit for. But he'd soon see that just as he could be clever when dealing with her, she could be stupid when she turned in his first paper. That is, if he didn't clean up his act.

The next few hours were nearly unbearable. Transfiguration, of course, was first, and then came Ancient Runes. All during her first class, there was constant distraction from a certain group of Slytherin boys. Also known as Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, and a newcomer to the group known as McKenzie. Hermione herself thought the name was girly for a boy, but didn't comment on the subject aloud. Every few minutes or so, when Proffessor McGonogall wasn't looking, Draco would steal glances at her to make sure she was taking notes at all times. Although, when she wasn't it didn't seem to bother him all that much. It seemed that he had great confidence in her ability to fetch him a passing grade. Hermione was incensed at the mere thought of him getting to sit around and flirt with every passing by female in the school while she was pulling double-duty on Transfigurations homework. She seethed with anger as she took her notes, and upon looking back later, wished she hadn't been. The ink on her parchment was blotched and hard to make out most of the time. When McGonogall dismissed the class she quickly gathered her things into her book bag, and headed off up a short flight of nearby stairs towards her next class. She heard a call from below her at the bottom of the stairs.

"Granger!" She tried to ignore it, but it kept repeating itself. She whirled around, looking to find Draco there.

"Why don't you just leave me alone you evil little…" but she stopped immediately and bit her tongue in embarrassment. How could she have mistaken that voice? She could feel her blood fill her cheeks as she looked, wide-eyed at Minerva McGonogall. At first, the professor didn't say anything and just stared at her with a confused expression from above her spectacles. "I am so sorry professor…I thought…" she stammered, but was silenced by McGonogall when she raised her hand for her to stop.

"I don't want to know Ms. Granger." She said a very casual tone, as if she were talking about the weather or something very regular. Never in her life had Hermione gone off on an authority figure like that before. Even if it was unintentional. Fortunately, Professor McGonogall seemed to dismiss the outburst entirely. A few students, particularly some passing-by first years, seemed to have suddenly developed a very keen interest in Hermione. She was nearly positive that no student, or any other person for that matter, had ever talked to the professor like that and lived to see their graduating day at Hogwarts, much less scathed by without a week full of detentions.

"What I came to tell you, Miss Granger, is that I am starting a Transfigurations…society. I am taking the top 5 students in my class, and seeing as you have had the highest marks for your entire history in my class, I thought you may be interested?" she finished with an ever-so-slight smile at the corner of her mouth that made her look like she was up to something.

"Absolutely Professor!" Hermione sparked excitedly before thinking twice about it.

"I expected as much from you Miss Granger." McGonogall said with a proud beam as she nodded and turned to walk away. After a spilt-second pause, she turned to face Hermione again. "You will receive notice of when the first meeting is to be. It shouldn't be long from now." She said quickly, and turned to disappear in her classroom at the bottom of the steps. Hermione could feel her cheeks burning red with excitement, and could almost imagine the dazed look on her face. She had momentarily failed to notice the several pairs of prying eyes turned in her direction. There was no doubt in her mind that they had overheard the conversation, but something as exclusive as a Transfigurations Society was sure to travel around the school in no time. Suddenly feeling the urge to know the time, she shuffled her books in her arms so as to better see her watch. Her eyes widened as she gazed at it. "Holy cricket! I'm going to be late for Herbology." She yelped. Professor Sprout was one of the more forgiving teachers of Hogwarts, but he was sure to deduct house points for her unusual tardiness. Hermione looked sharply around at the peering eyes of younger students as she had just fully noted how many of them there were. They had been accumulating.

"You younger years better get to class on time if you know what's good for you and your houses." She said commandingly, showing her prefect's badge with pride. As soon as a good bit of the students had dispersed and she had decided that she couldn't possibly waste one more moment of her precious time herding ignorant first years, she dashed off towards Green House Six. She was in for it now. Anxiety took over at the thought of her first tardy compiled on top of Professor McGonogall's offer. She couldn't help but have a sense of impending doom concerning the upcoming week, though she wasn't sure why.

Charms had proven to be particularly difficult, what with Professor Flitwick teaching them shielding spells. In all honesty, he only had to teach a few of the students. Coincidentally, the students who had attended the DA meetings the previous year seemed to excel brilliantly compared with those who hadn't. The rest of the students, especially Neville, who performed much better than expected, were granted house points, and accumulatively, Gryffindor acquired a grand total of thirty points. And while, at first, Hermione beamed at Gryiffindor's huge success, she soon regretted their skill. The professor decided that since they were all so adapt at performing their shielding charms out loud, they should try them silently. Hermione, who was one of the quicker learners, escaped the lesson with only a few bruises and scrapes from incoming disarming charms. And though she left class looking better than most-especially a battered Neville, who, never having gotten the silent charm quite right, was knocked into surrounding desks and chairs with an almost brutal force-she was still set in a funk for the rest of the afternoon. It might have gotten better were it not for Potions class with Snape. She wasn't quite sure why she had even bothered taking it again.

The lesson that day was really quite dull until the middle of class. Hermione was in the middle of measuring her teaspoon of bat's bile for her blinding potion, when a very clumsy Hufflepuff boy stumbled on his way to the supply cabinet-conveniently located right next to her desk-and knocked the entire bottle out of hand and into her cauldron. She jumped out of the way just in time to avoid being covered in a pink, puke-like, bubbly mass throbbing it's way over the cauldron's edge. The Hufflepuff boy however, was not so fortunate. His entire left arm was doused in the solution and preceded to swell to three times its normal size. It looked as if he had wedged his entire forearm into a great round tree trunk. Professor Snape, being the unforgiving teacher that he was, gave Hermione no marks for the day at all, and sentenced her to silence in her attempted explanation.

"There is no excuse for clumsiness Miss Granger. I suspect next time you will be a bit more careful when measuring your ingredients, hmmm?" he jeered before turning on the younger Hufflepuff boy. Hermione pitied him through her anger, for it now seemed hard for him to stand upright under the weight of his own growing arm. Professor Snape sent him to the infirmary unaccompanied. It was later said that he never made it due to his arm becoming so heavy that he could no longer manage to drag it. He was found laying down a few corridors away from Madame Pomfrey's office. Fortunately for him, she had been making rounds and had seen him before he had been stranded there for too long.

She thought she had remembered his name being Davis or something of the sort, but she really hadn't paid that much attention. She was much more concerned with the injustice of the entire ordeal. After all, it was her first failing grade since arriving at Hogwarts and, if her spirits weren't already low enough, they were crushed. She left her last class before the weekend fuming and refusing to explain why to a concerned Ron and Harry. Ron seemed to have completely forgotten the entire train incident, and was now only angry with her because she wouldn't speak to them. Once the three of them had returned to the common room, Hermione immediately pulled out a chair and laid her immensely overloaded book bag beside her.

"Goodness Hermione, how many classes are you taking this year?" Harry asked, furrowing his brow like he normally did when he was slightly confused.

"A regular load," she answered, a bit stressed at the moment.

"How many did you expect?" piped Ron incredulously. "You can only take so many before you schedule is full now can't you," oblivious to a quick glace exchanged between Hermione and Harry. She realized that she and Harry still hadn't told Ron about the time turner. She decided that with the mountain of homework she had accumulated, tonight was _definitely_ not the most opportune time to relive the story. It would take him several tellings and precious hours of her time to get the idea across, and she didn't have the ambition, or the energy at the moment.

Hermione whipped out her Transfigurations homework first. She laid out the book and required parchment in front of her.

"That's not your Transfigurations homework is it?" Ron asked incredulously with wide eyes.

"Yes," Hermione replied thickly, motioning sharply to the book in her lap. Harry caught Ron's meaning a bit more on cue.

"But that's twice the amount of parchment required." Harry said, squinting his eyes like he was trying to solve a puzzle.

"Yeah. Two rolls are enough. Do you have to overachieve at everything? I mean, you know there _are_ people out there who make decent grades _without _doubling their workload." Ro jabbed in a condescending tone. "Besides," he added, "I don't think there's any possible way to fill four rolls of parchment over Color-Changing Periwinkits." Hermione couldn't help but feel the ignorance rushing out of his mouth. That, and his bashing of her study habits without even knowing the full story triggered something. It could have been due to her stress level, it could have been due to her rotten week, and it could have been due to the tone in his voice, but something inside her head snapped. Hermione stood up abruptly and didn't even bother trying to catch her Transfiguration book as it fell, pages down, onto the floor.

"Just because you're ignorant on the subject doesn't mean everyone else has to be! And while you're at condemning my study habits, you should call me a filthy little mudblood, and you'll sound just like Malfoy!" she shouted at him, quickly gathering her things and not even bothering to keep the pages of the textbook or her four rolls of parchment in order. She stormed away up the right hand stairwell and into the empty girls' dorm, leaving Ron and Harry standing alone with shock-still looks on their faces. She heard Ron's incoherent stammering below until she slammed the dorm room behind her.

"What an absolute prat! Who does he think he is!" Hermione fumed as she slammed her papers and book down on the end of her bed. She sat down angrily and glared at her homework as if it had been the cause of the whole ordeal. In a sense, it had been. She picked up her quill and, after a few deep breaths, once again placed it to the now slightly crumpled parchment. Her hand was ready to scribble brilliantly on, but her mind had drawn a complete blank. What did she know about Color-Changing Periwinkits? She racked her brain. Nothing. She opened her book and looked in the index for a page number. She flipped to it and began to read. But the funny thing was, she couldn't seem to get past the first sentence.

"Prat." She fumed again as she slammed her book shut. She wasn't getting anywhere with this in the state of mind she was in. She needed to get out into fresh air. She had a funny feeling that Harry and Ron were still stationed in the common room, but was determined to leave without further interruption. She picked up her book bag and packed only the things she would need for Transfiguration: her four rolls of parchment, quill, ink, and textbook. It was considerably lighter without her various other paraphernalia taking up space. She sighed heavily and headed downstairs. Harry spotted her and impeded her way about halfway to the door.

"Hermione, look, we're really sorry." he said nervously.

"Well _some_ people don't seem to be." she bit sharply, glancing over at Ron, who remained in his seat and refused to acknowledge her presence in the room.

"Hermione…" Harry started, but was cut off.

"Don't Harry. Not right now." She warned, checking past him towards the portrait hole. "I don't appreciate being berated by people I thought to be my friends." She said, giving Ron an death glare before she left. Harry said nothing more, but she could hear Ron's muffled objection through the now closed entry. She wasn't in the mood to be forgiving, so she wasn't going to be.


	6. Hermione's Hideout

**Chapter 5**

**Hermione's Hideout**

Hermione followed her feet wherever they would take her, which eventually led her to a large and beautifully blossomed weeping willow flourishing a few hundred yards away from the Forbidden Forest. It seemed to draw her to it once she'd discovered it, and soon found herself sitting under it in it's shade quite comfortably. The long viney leaves reached down and teased the ground on all immediately visible sides, but when she walked around to the other side, there was a small hollow space big enough to fit a small car, that was also conveniently sheltered from any prying eyes. She crawled inside and settled down. She looked out and could see a tiny, glittering portion of the lake from inside the protection and secrecy of her green hollow. There was slight breeze that managed to mingle it's way through surrounding vines, and it felt beautiful on her cheeks. The sun was low in the sky, and she had calmed considerably since being in the dorms. She felt able to study once more, and worked several hours until it became impossible to read the words she was writing only a few inches from her face, even with the aid of her wand. She had finished and was growing weary, and decided to head back to the common room. It was already very dark, and upon her entering the building she suddenly realized that she had been out long after curfew. She could only imagine how much trouble she would be in if she were caught.

"Some prefect I am." She muttered as she carefully and quietly trod the hallways. She narrowly avoided Filch on her way past the library. She had heard him opening the door, and swiftly jumped behind a suit of armor. Filch must have heard her though, because he had crept in her direction immediately after exiting to room. But, she could not have been more relieved to see Peeves the poltergeist flying by, banging a ghostly set of frying pans together and making an awful racket. Filch immediately forgo his suspicions and hobbled after him yelling wildly.

"I'll get ya outta here yet!" he threatened as he rounded the corner and yelled some other obscene phrases that should have been left unsaid. A bit flustered and breathless, she continued her sneaking until she could see the portrait-hole entrance. Her heart jumped through the roof. She was home free! She picked up her pace and was practically sprinting at the door, book bag slapping the backs of her knees along the way. She reached the door panting and holding her sides, having run nearly a hundred yards, and having to have climbed a small flight of stairs in the process.

"Arbora." She whispered quietly, after catching her breath. She waited for the portrait to open and grant her entry, but she could only make out the rasping, grotesque snores of the Fat Lady. "Arbora." She hissed a little more hurriedly and loudly this time. Still, the Fat Lady slept on. Hermione's eyes had now adjusted to the dim candlelight and could faintly see that outline of her plump figure resting on a great, silvery cushioned bench that she was sure she had never spotted there previously. "Wake up!" she hissed again. When, for the third time, the woman did not wake, Hermione reached both hands to the side of her frame, and with all her might, shook the picture from side to side as viciously and quickly as her strength would allow.

"Merlin! What's the meanin' o' this! Just whadda you think you're doing! You've no right to just come here at this time o' night and wake a woman from her beauty sleep!" the Fat Lady yelled loudly and angrily. Hermione tried to shush her, but the Lady would have none of it. She just kept going on about her "beauty sleep". _Lord knows she needs it_…Hermione thought. She knew she was bound to get caught if this kept up, but no matter how she tried to quiet the woman, her efforts were only met with more screaming and squawking. Hermione put her hands on her ears to block out the high-pitched, squealing voice so that she could attempt to hear herself think. She was doomed.

"Shut up you fat old louse!" she shouted above her, finally unable to take nay more of the Fat Lady's rants and screaming. And, sure enough, immediately after she'd said it, silence ensued. "Thank Merlin." She muttered as she removed her hands from her ears.

"Wait a minute. I know you! You're that know-it-all brat that everyone's been talkin' 'bout. They were right to say you was trouble! Sneaking 'round all hours of the bloody night, galavantin' 'round the school whenevah you please… No doubt with that Draco boy…" she whipped Hermione with that last comment. Hermione was in complete shock at what she had just heard. She opened her mouth to reply, but couldn't find the words to articulate what she wanted to say. For once in her life, she didn't know what to say. She was at a loss for words. Her mind was a complete blank slate.

"Miss Granger! What is the meaning of this!" came a shrill and all too familiar voice from off to her right. Hermione's body went shock stiff and her eyes wide as she wished that she could just crawl into a hole a die. She turned to see none other than an irate Professor McGonogall striding towards her with a fierce presence. She wore a long checked robe that billowed behind her as she walked, and a very tight sleeping cap that matched it and concealed her bun.

"Professor! I…I was…" she stammered at the tight-lipped and livid-looking teacher. She paused a moment, but the look McGonogall was giving her was telling her that she'd better explain and fast.

"Professor…I was just studying…and lost track of time. Honestly." She explained, wishing that she had just been back on time. McGonogall looked her up and down, eyeing her bag suspiciously. Then, with a very sharp and quick wave of her wand, Hermione's book bag uprighted itself, the contents spilling out into midair. Hermione felt quite insulted, having always abided by the rules, with the exception of extreme times of course. The professor seemed to be highly relieved by the sight of it's contents, but still remained straight-faced.

"Miss Granger, as intent as you are on studying for my class, you know the rules." She began sternly, but not angry as her tone had been before. "As a school prefect you should be setting an example for the younger students, and frankly I am quite disappointed in you." she paused, as if hesitating to continue.

"Professor…" Hermione began, but was cut short by a wave of McGonogall's hand.

"Miss Granger, I believe you. I honestly do, but studies are no reason to be about at such an hour, roaming the castle. And you, above most, should know that. I have no choice but to issue you detentions for the coming weeks." Hermione stood there, slack-jawed at what Professor McGonogall had just said. A few _weeks_ of detentions for being late _one_ night! Apparently she could feel the great sense of injustice Hermione was emitting in waves, and reached out to touch her shoulder gently.

"I'm sorry Miss Granger. Until we get this figured out, I have no other choice." She said, without the faintest notion that she had said anything obscure or out of the ordinary. _Get what figured out? _Hermione was about to ask when McGonogall suddenly turned to the portrait hole and announced, "Secretis verde." The Fat Lady, still looking quite disgruntled, reluctantly swung open, but sneered as the professor ushered Hermione inside. "Now, I will see you tomorrow morning for class, and you will serve your first detention with me tomorrow afternoon right after you last class. Goodnight." She was abruptly, before turning curtly on her heel and disappearing into the darkness halfway down the corridor. Hermione wondered again what she meant by the whole "figured out" thing. The portrait door slammed quickly, nearly jamming her right in the nose. She avoided it only just, and felt more stressed and weary than before. She took a seat near the fire in one of the oversized, scarlet decorative chairs and took a deep breath. She rested her head on the arm of the chair, and curled her legs up to occupy the rest of the seat. She sat there for a few minutes, drifting in theory and thought, and it was only a matter of time before she drifted off to sleep.


	7. Rumors

**Chapter 6**

"Hermione."

"Hermione wake up."

"She's not waking up"

"Hermione, you're going to be late for Transfigurations!" yelled a voice in her ear. Hermione jumped out of her seat with unprecedented speed and looked around frantically to find Ginny attempting to stifle her uncontrollable laughter. Ron and Harry just stood there looking at her. Harry looked as if he were attempting a smile, but seemed to think it might not be entirely safe to do so. Hermione looked at her watch. She had at least an hour to eat breakfast and get to class.

"That was entirely uncalled for Ginny." Hermione scolded. Ginny simply continued to laugh, apparently unaffected by a prefect's reprimand. Hermione rubbed her eyes sleepily and headed up to her dorm room after picking up her bag. She entered her bathroom as soon as she threw her things onto her bed, and examined her disheveled hair. She smoothed it back and tightened it into a neat bun on the back of her head. Then, quite suddenly, the previous nights' events came back to her. Her late arrival, Professor McGonogall's comment…it was all so out of place. She would have dismissed it all as a strange dream had she not woken up in a chair in the common room, and carried two separate Transfigurations essays in her book bag. She could count her blessings that at least the professor hadn't noticed that. She quickly smoothed down her robes and headed back down to the common room where Ginny awaited her near the portrait hole.

"It's about time! We'd better hurry, or we'll miss breakfast entirely." She piped with a friendly smile. Ever since first having met Ginny, Hermione had always found something appealing about her personality. They had always been good friends, and she loved her sense of optimism. But, even Ginny's perky aura could not erase the sense of oddity about last nights' events. She smiled half-heartedly anyway and followed her out, only to be met with a vicious glare from the Fat Lady upon reaching the other side. She ignored it for now and they continued down to breakfast. Once they had reached the Great Hall and taken their usual seats across from Harry and Ron, Ginny turned to her excitedly.

"So what's this I hear about you and Malfoy both turning in late last night?" she asked enthusiastically, smiling wryly and nudging Hermione's elbow with her own. Hermione almost had to double take when she heard it. Harry, who had only looked at her when she sat down and returned to his oatmeal, nearly choked on his meal and started coughing heavily, his eyes watering. Ron simply stared in shock, mouth hanging open wide enough for a barn owl to nest there. His ears were turning a deep shade of red, but he didn't say anything. "I beg your pardon?" Hermione said incredulously, still in disbelief about what she had just been asked. Harry and Ron looked as if they were both wondering the exact same thing, and kept looking back and forth between the two of them as they spoke, as if watching a verbal tennis match.

"You and Malfoy. You were both caught, late last night, returning to your dorms, with the _same_ cover story." She said vindictively as if she were coming to a final conclusion-although she seemed to not be too upset about the whole matter.

"You 'ave ta admit. It does sound a wee bit suspicious." Chimed a tiny first year to her left that she did not recognize. She suddenly realized that she was becoming surrounded by staring gaggle of girls of every age and different houses. It seemed that at the exact same moment in time, they had all simultaneously decided that they had nothing better to do than to stare silently and intently at her. Hermione became quite flustered and lost any words that had once been in her chest. What was she supposed to say? She gesticulated quietly, but nothing coherent crossed her lips. How could they possibly think she would even civilly socialize with that foul little cockroach?

"So it's true!" some indistinct voice squealed after her near moment of silence. Hermione immediately snapped back to life and found her words at that indignant statement.

"No! No! That's not…" but her voice was drowned out by the sudden burst of conversation and gossip. Hermione tried to yell above them and renounce it, but the scandalous rumor had already reached the end of the Gryffindor table and was working its was around the hall like wildfire. The room seemed to have quickly grown nearly deafeningly loud. Hermione snatched her book bag and stood up abruptly, whipping around to leave breakfast, even though she hadn't had any. She swiftly exited the Great Hall, only to be jerked to an abrupt forward halt when she felt someone grip her upper arm roughly and pull her off to the side. She pulled back sharply out of their grip as she looked up incredulously at the culprit.

"Let's go Granger. We haven't got all damn day." He sneered rudely. It was Malfoy.

"Just what do you think…?" she stammered angrily, but was cut off as hr grabbed her arm harshly again, twisting it some as he dragged her into a nearby empty classroom. He slammed the door behind them as they entered and waved his wand above his head around the room.

"Muffliato." He muttered as he released her, nearly throwing her away from him. Her shoulder jammed sharply into the wall, and she could tell already that hey were bruising. Then, with a quickness and speed powered by her hatred, she whipped her wand out of her robes, and pointed it directly at Malfoy's heart. He had grown since she had last met with him, and wasn't a small target. He didn't look angry or even surprised by her actions, and only stood calmly in front of her, as he did the day on the train, looking her in the eye diligently.

"I swear to God Malfoy, that you will not live to see your graduation day if you ever touch me like that again." She hissed threateningly, surprising herself with the loathing tone of her voice. But she stood steady and fierce before him.

"Oh please Granger. Put your wand away. You wouldn't kill a flobberworm intent on your life." He sneered, glaring up at her from beneath his white hair. His grey eyes flashed maliciously, and she, for once, became a bit frightened of him.

"Try me." She hissed back, keeping her wand aimed at chest level. Draco just rolled his eyes in an annoyed fashion.

"Just listen, Mudblood. This is important." He said calmly, taking a step forward so that the tip of her wand was nearly touching him now. She thought about hexing right then and there, but yet again, she could not bring herself to do it. An invisible force seemed to hold her mouth shut.

"I suppose by now that you've heard the rumors. Being friends with that scraggly little She-Weasel, how could you not?" he began, insulting Ginny right to her face, but staying calm and looking at her for a reaction. Hermione decided to ignore the comment for the time being and only nodded her head. She had no idea what he was hitting at. "It is fortunate that you were outlast night, as it will give me the perfect alibi. You will, from henceforth, confirm the rumors." He said, like he was merely ordering about a house elf. Hermione could scarcely believe what she was hearing. _Confirm_? _Why? What was he up to? What was so important to hide, that he would risk his reputation of being a pureblood? No doubt the work of Voldemort. _

"Why should I?" she spat out, contemplating the best hex for him. Perhaps a bat bogey? She had learned from Ginny after all.

"Because I order you to." he said simply, the left corner of hi mouth curling up on its own in that evil sneer she hated so much.

"Please…" she puffed in disbelief. "As if _I_ would ever obey _you_." she said, becoming ever more incensed than ever, her hazel eyes becoming wild and full of charge. Draco's posterior snapped. The cocky grin disappeared and was replaced by a front of anger and rage. With one swift circle of his arm, he had knocked the wand from her hand, sending it flying across the room. His other hand had already grasped itself to her throat while she tried to fight it. He was stronger than she was and she knew it. It was becoming increasingly difficult for her to breathe, but she was determined to not let her fear show. Especially not to him. She swung up her knee, but he seemed prepared for it, and merely used his own hip to shove it out of the current path it was on, and slamming her back against the wall. Her pressed himself against her so as to make it impossible for her to squirm away or even fight back. Hermione closed her eyes in pain. Her was stronger than she had given him credit for, and she would never make that mistake again.

"Malfoy," she rasped with hatred dripping off of his name like venom, "You won't get away with th…" she tried to finish, but found it impossible, felling her airway constrict even more with a simple flex of his fingers.

"Yes I will Granger." He said cockily, staring her down with his blazing eyes. "And you're going to make sure of it, or you'll be spending more time with Potter's parent's than he does." He threatened. Had she been able to breathe she might have objected, but currently, her vision was blacking out, bit by bit. Draco could see that she was falling out of consciousness. Her eyes were flickering, and her could feel her body relying more on him for support. Come to think of it, he couldn't even hear her rasping anymore. He hadn't realized he was squeezing so hard. She was no good to him dead. He released her and watched her slump down against the wall immediately, coughing and gasping for air. He turned his back to her and walked to where her wand lay. By now, Hermione was too weak to fight back physically, and now that he had her wand, she didn't have much of a choice but to sit and listen. Hermione reached up and massaged her throat, and even though air was rushing back into her lungs, she could not make herself stand. It was as if her legs were completely disconnected from the rest of her. She could only sit there helplessly and rasp for air. Draco walked back over to where she sat, and squatted down in front of her, putting them at eye level again.

"Don't die Granger, I need you alive for this to work." He said, placing her own wand under her chin, lifting her head and forcing her to look at him. She tried to speak, but only a wheezing cough made it past her lips.

"You will tell anyone that asks that we are dating. I will accompany you to class, and you are _not _to tell anyone of this encounter. Do you understand?" he said, as if laying down rules to a five year old. She could only glare with obvious loathing. _I'll tell Dumbledore, and you'll see you don't mess with me_… she thought. Then, as if reading her thoughts, he spoke again. "Keep in mind, Granger, that if you so decide to try my patience, your filthy mudblood parents will be the ones to pay the price." He said, lips pursed. Her eyes widened with hatred.

"You wouldn't!" she rasped, feeling her throat scream out in pain. Draco only smiled.

"I would." He sneered, placing his hand on her cheek in a mocking fashion. She jerked her face away from his icy hand. He stopped smiling and griped her fiercely by her chin, forcing her to stay within his grasp. "And you will perform such duties as are necessary for this…charade." He commanded with a suggestive lift of his eyebrows. He stood up and threw her wand across the empty room and walked calmly out the door. Once she was sure had gone, she crawled across and stuffed it into her robes. She brought her knees up to her chest ad cried.


	8. Decisions Made

**Yeah...I know its short, but...blah...read on...**

**Chapter 7**

Hermione skipped what was left of Transfigurations and headed up to the dorms. She knew Professor McGonogall would probably be furious, but at the moment she had a lot on her mind, and quite frankly, Color-Changing Periwinkits were on the bottom of the list. She reached the dorm, sat her things next to her bed, and lay down after kicking off her shoes. She stared blackly at the ceiling above her four-poster bed.

_Could she continue with this charade? Was Malfoy serious about her parents, or was it an empty threat? What would happen if she told Dumbledore? What would happen if she didn't? What was Malfoy up to?_

Hermione pondered on many things for the remainder of the afternoon. She failed to make the rest of her classes, but she was sure she didn't miss anything she couldn't make up later. Soon, her stomach began getting queasy and uncomfortable. It was like it was trying to reject the conclusion she was trying so hard to swallow. There was only one way to find out what Malfoy was up to.

She was going to do what he asked. _Everything _he asked. She was turning her back on everything she had ever stood for, and going away from everything she believed. She was going to play the part. She would _be_ Malfoy's girlfriend, and she was going to make it believable…at _all_ costs.


	9. Strange Dreams

**Chapter 8**

"Hermione, Honey, wake up."

"Dear, its nearly eleven o' clock." Hermione opened her eyes slowly to see two very worried familiar faces standing above her.

"Mom? Dad?" she asked, suddenly very confused. She looked down at herself, and could see she was still in her school robes, but her sheets were not those deep red of Gryffindor Tower. She looked up and gathered in her surroundings. She was home. She was in her own room. She was trying to come up with some explanation, but couldn't form one, even with all her logic.

"What…?" she began, but was cut short.

"Try not to talk too much Sweet Pea." Her father said, kneeling down next to the bed and putting his palm on her forehead as if taking her temperature. _What was going on? What was wrong with her?_ Her father pulled out a wand from his back jean pocket and waved it over his open palm. A vile of red syrupy liquid appeared there by some pixilated distortion of the air. _What was going on? Since when did her father use magic?_ He opened it and held it delicately, handing it to her mother, who was smiling kindly. She couldn't have ever remembered her mother to be angry. She always possessed a soft nature about her. Too bad she hadn't inherited it. Her mother took it and looked down at Hermione, sitting on the bedside near her.

"Sweetie, you need to drink this so you can get better, ok?" she cooed, lowering the vial to her. Hermione was still confused, but took the small tube without argument and put it to her lips. She hesitated only momentarily before pouring the molasses into her mouth. It was the foulest thing she had ever tasted. It was bitter and sour and set her mouth on fire. She had to shut her eyes tightly to suppress the violent urge to cough. It smelt just as foul as it tasted, and the obnoxious odor filled her nostrils like some great gaseous explosion. She tried to swallow it quickly, but her throat refused to allow the burning syrup passage. She heaved, but held her mouth shut with one hand.

"Come on Sweet Pea, you have to swallow." Her father coaxed as she heaved, rubbing her back soothingly. His touch relaxed her chest, and made her throat cease its vicious constricting for a moment. She swallowed hurriedly. She could have almost cried out as the searing contents of that vile crawled down her throat, but she held herself until the burning sensation faded away.

"That's my girl," he said with a proud smile as he continued rubbing her back. Hermione let out a breath of relief as she felt her muscles slowly melt away the tension. She didn't feel confused any longer, and she felt an unexplainable satisfaction deep in the back of her mind.

Then, quite suddenly, her eyes snapped open. Hermione woke in a cold sweat, only to find herself once again in her four-poster bed in the tower of Hogwarts. She wiped away the beads of a cold sweat from her forehead and sat upright. She opened her mouth to speak, but felt a kind of burning pain that prevented her from doing so. _The medicine? Had it been real after all? _She got up and walked to the bathroom, heading towards the nearest looking glass and examining herself. Around her neck rested some very painful looking bruises. They formed the distinct shape of tightly clenched fingers. She put her hand up to her neck gently. They didn't even come close to filling the cast his hand had made. She suddenly felt an icy shiver run its way up her spine. It was dreadfully cold and she didn't understand it. She pulled out her wand and performed a concealing spell to hide it.

"Hermione! Where have you been?" Ginny squealed as she stormed into the bathroom, looking quite flustered and concerned.

"Here," she rasped in painful reply. She tried, but couldn't conceal the wince that followed the word as she had the bruises. Ginny's expression softened.

"You're sick." She said as she took Hermione gently by that shoulder. Apparently it had also bruised after being thrown into a wall, but Hermione didn't let it show and resisted the urge to pull away. "Why didn't you tell us? We've all been worried sick." She chided gently, making her sit down on her bed. Hermione opened her mouth to answer, but Ginny hushed her before even a wisp of air could pass her lips.

"Don't say anything, you sound awful! Your throat must hurt terribly." She said, conjuring a thermometer as if were second nature to her. She stuffed into Hermione's mouth and stood there, eyes scanning over her intently until it beeped loudly. She removed it and checked the small screen.

"Well, you don't have a fever, but you should definitely get some rest." She said, ducking beside her bed and pulling some of Hermione's pajamas out of her trunk. "Get changed and get some rest, and I _don't _want to see you up and about." She said, waving a finger that reminded her very much of Mrs. Weasley. Hermione felt a smile creep at the corners of her mouth. She changed and crawled under the sheets. She felt herself relax, and soon, sleep devoured her again. But, just before she drifted away, she had to count her blessings for such a wonderful friend. She needed one right now, and Ginny was right there by her side. _Thanks Ginny_…she thought as she lost consciousness.


	10. Like Old Times

**Chapter 9**

Hermione awoke to find that the curtains of her bed had been pulled shut. She sat up slowly and stretched. She felt much more rested, and upon touching her neck, found it to be less tender. She threw open the curtains and was hit with a breath of fresh air. There was no one in the dorm, save herself, so she stood up and walked to the bathroom without changing into her robes first. She looked in the mirror and, hoping it had all been one horrible nightmare, reluctantly examined her neck. The concealment charm seemed to have worn itself off, and the bruises were the same as when she had seen them for the first time. They looked much more painful than they really were now though. _Thank God…_she thought as she fingered them gently. She cast yet another concealment charm, and just in time. Ginny had walked back into the dorms with a big smile on her face.

"Good Morning sleepy head! I was just coming to see how you were feeling." She said cheerfully, and almost immediately conjuring her thermometer and shoving it into Hermione's mouth again. Ginny placed her hand against her forehead and began examining her thoroughly. "How are you feeling?" she asked, in the process of checking her eyes for some sign of something.

"Mmm…" Hermione started, but didn't get far before Ginny cut her off.

"Don't talk with your mouth full." She said looking her in the eyes while adjusting her hair pin and waiting for the thermometer to beep. She didn't have to wait long, and as soon as it sounded, she reached out and grabbed it. She looked at the tiny screen and scrunched up her nose. "Well you don't have a temperature, so…I don't know what to tell you Hermione. I have no idea why you're feeling so sick." She said, flabbergasted and shaking her head. She was her mother's daughter.

"Thanks Gin, but I feel fine today. It must have just been a virus or something." Hermione lied through her teeth with a completely believable smile. Ginny didn't suspect a thing. She merely smiled back and then looked at the large grandfather clock standing near the door.

"Its nearly eight o' clock. Class will start soon. You slept through breakfast." Ginny said with a slight giggle.

"What?" Hermione asked, suddenly realizing how hoarse her voice was.

"Well, your _boy_friend was looking for you." she said, no longer able to hold in the spastic giggles emerging from her small body.

"What did he want?" Hermione croaked, trying to sound more sincere than she felt.

"Come to think of it, he never did say." She said, putting her hands on her hips in contemplation. "He seemed very concerned though!" she teased, moving her hands up to her cheeks and held them in mock worry. Hermione just rolled her eyes. _Could he sink any lower? No. No one could possibly be any lower than Draco Malfoy. _He was only concerned about his Transfigurations grade swirling down the drain. But then again, it would have been his won fault. It wasn't exactly like she asked him to attack her.

"I'll get dressed and be right down." Hermione smiled as Ginny giggled her way out the door. But her smile faded as soon as she was sure the door had shut completely behind her. She grudgingly began getting dressed, wearing her skirt a little shorter than usual, and leaving the top two buttons of her blouse undone. She had to make this absolutely believable. She flashed herself a seductive smile in the mirror, but it only made her frown.

"This is lower than low." She growled to herself, buttoning one of the buttons that had been left open. It still showed her crease, but it left more to the imagination than before. She composed herself and adjusted her book bag and strutted downstairs to the common room. Ron, Harry, Ginny, Fred, and George sat around a small table in a tight circle, whispering about something intently. A few other students milled about, but most were too engrossed in their own conversations to notice anything else. Hermione walked up to stand behind the twins, who were conniving quite intently and failed to notice her presence. She was curious as to what they were planning this time, seeing as she hadn't seen them at all yet this year, and had failed to keep up with their latest mischievous plans. Ginny seemed to be the first to notice her standing there. She looked up and smiled, but seemed preoccupied with something.

"OUCH!" Ron yelped as he reached down to massage his leg. Hermione knew then that they were talking about something they didn't want her to hear, but for now, she let it go. Her looked up to see Hermione standing there, and indiscreetly elbowed Harry who was, up until now, quite engrossed in conversation with the twins. Ron's eyes were as big as saucers, and she suddenly felt very vulnerable.

"Oh…hello Hermione…" Harry fumbled, grasping in his head for something to say, but his eyes had taken on a glazed look much like Ron's. Both of their mouths just hung their for a moment as if suspended open in mid-air. Fred and George saw Harry and Ron stop talking and look up, so they, in turn, followed their eyes to a very…different Hermione.

"Hello." She said, almost nervously now that all eyes were on her, weakly waving at the group. The boys seemed completely at a loss for words, but Ginny picked up the slack after a slight hesitation.

"Fred and George were just telling us about their newest product." Ginny smiled. Hermione was skeptical. She could see Ron's nostrils flare on the other side of the table. They always did that when he was lying, but she wasn't sure if it really counted since he wasn't technically saying anything. And, currently, she was willing to grasp onto anything semi-normal. Any stability in her life was more than welcome right now.

"Yeah," he said, finally looking her in the eyes and gulping hard. She suddenly felt her cheeks redden as she became embarrassed. It was just a few inches off the skirt and a button or two. What was the big deal?

"What was it called again?" Harry asked shakily tearing his gaze away from her and looking almost frantically at the twins. They also seemed to be a bit surprised, but not nearly the way Harry and Ron were acting.

"You're not going to report us to Filch are you?" he asked, nodding to the prefect's badge stitched into the left breast of her robe. Hermione rolled her eyes.

"No." she said after a moment's consideration. It couldn't be something _that _bad could it?

"Well, we haven't decided quite to call it yet. We were actually hoping you blokes could help us figure that part out." George said with his trademark jester smile without skipping a beat, although his eyes still looked a bit glazed as Ron's were.

"Yeah, but it's not perfected yet." Groaned Fred catching up.

"But we're working on it…"

"Among others…" Fred finished. Hermione couldn't help but smile the way they read each other's mind was amazing to her. Ginny looked relieved and smiled a weary smile at her brothers before rolling her eyes.

"You know mum's going to have a fit when she finds out you two are at it again." Ginny chided, but not very convincingly, for she was still smiling. Their inventions were odd…but that was their charm.

"Yes, well that's why…"

"She's not going to find out." Both twins looked distinctively at Ron when they said this.

"Well, as long as Mopey here doesn't give it away again." barked Fred.

"It wasn't my fault!" Ron said defensively, seeming to come out of his daze. "You never told me those mushrooms weren't for eating." He grumbled, almost inaudibly. Hermione was intrigued, and the twins caught her look and processed to explain.

"One day, my and best friend Fred here are sitting in our rooms, _harmlessly_ working on our newest product…"

"When enters Mop-Top to tell us that Mum wanted us to go out and collect some wild berries for supper." They both paused for a dramatic effect.

"He saw the mushroom and took them…"

"_Without_ asking…."

"And took them straight back to Mum." Here it seemed that Ron could no longer sit idly by.

"I did not!" Ron nearly shouted with indignation. He calmed his voice before continuing. "She just kind of found me with them and snatched them out of my hand…" he shrugged semi-innocently.

"Either way…Mum still got a hold of them and started cooking." George interjected.

"Good thing she didn't taste test…" Fred whistled.

"They were shrinking mushrooms…" George pitched, obviously advertising their unfinished product to the group. Hermione caught herself smiling from ear to ear. She wanted to know what happened next. There was no way that this story didn't have a humorous ending.

"They make anyone who eats them two inches tall for about and hour and a half." added Fred, practically ripping his face in two with the huge smile plastered there.

"Mum was done cooking before they got back from their wild berry hunt." Ginny said, widening her eyes with a 'Katy-bar-the-door' look on her face and a scrunched up nose.

"Good thing that cat got to it before anyone else…" George said smiling at Ginny's obvious look of disapproval. Ron just smirked, but didn't say anything, and Harry looked just as eager to hear the ending as Hermione did.

"They weren't perfected yet though…" added Fred, seemingly deep in though with a furrowed brow.

"Yeah, we couldn't find her for days." Fred burst out with laughter and everyone followed suit. Before it was all said and done, Harry had tears streaming from his face, and Hermione's abs hurt from laughing so hard. And, for the first time since school started, Hermione felt like a normal student, with normal friends, in a normal school. Ginny looked at the common room clock.

"It's about time for us to be getting to class." Ginny said, sighing out the last of her giggles. _Why did fun have to be so often interrupted by reality? _Together, the six of them exited through the portrait hole, but once outside, they went their separate ways. Ginny, the youngest of the group, waved a temporary goodbye and headed down the first corridor to their right while the rest of the continued straight through. Fred and George had Herbology first today and headed off to Greenhouse seven at a fast-paced jog. They would be lucky to be on time. The trio was left to themselves.

"So…"Harry said nervously. Hermione was tired of being angry with them, and came to the conclusion that her life was stressful enough without holding silly grudges with her best friends.

"Look, I'm sorry about going off on the two of you the other night." She apologized sincerely. Harry smiled a bit and Ron looked like he was contemplating it. "I was just…" but, as usual, she was cut off. Harry touched her shoulder gently.

"It's ok Hermione. We're just glad to have you back." Harry said finally, feeling it was now safe to smile. It was infectious, and soon, even she had a slight smile on her face.

"I _suppose_ we can forgive you…" mumbled Ron acceptingly with a shrug. And, just about the time the three of them were laughing again, they had reached the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom.


	11. Defense Against the Dark Arts

**Chapter 10**

"In a pleasant mood, are we Mr. Potter?" Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked simultaneously, smiles vanishing, to see the towering greasy figure of Professor Snape.

"Where's Professor Kilgore?" Harry asked defensively. Professor Kilgore had been their current Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, and even though he was nowhere near as skilled as some, he was highly intelligent and Hermione could appreciate that. Snape looked Hermione over carefully before answering.

"Professor Kilgore is…shall we say, _incapable_ of teaching at the current time." He smirked, turning his back to them and walking away before they had the chance to ask any more questions.

"No doubt he had something to do with it." Hermione whispered to Harry and Ron as the professor stalked out of earshot.

"Probably made him drink some horrible potion or something." She heard Ron mumble accusingly, hunched over as usual. She led the way into the classroom, slightly irritated and under the impression that class would be less than intriguing today. Quite suddenly, an announced body blocked her way. She looked up to see the smiling face of Draco Malfoy. She hid her sneer beneath a dashing smile that could have fooled her mother. Where she came up with the talent to act she couldn't imagine. But then again, she was a woman. _Weren't women supposed to be naturally inclined to masking things?_ Harry and Ron stopped dead in their tracks behind her.

"Malfoy just what…" Harry started, but trailed off when Hermione reached out and took Malfoy's hand. It was like a realization had hit him as he looked at the two of them. Malfoy was a good bit taller than Hermione, and Harry could see his eyes brush over her body. "Watch him Hermione. He's nothing but a prick. Why are you with him anyways?" Harry warned and asked incredulously. Apparently he still didn't believe it. She had to make him believe it. How did she answer that question? She wanted to tell them it wasn't real, but she couldn't. Her parents' lives could be at stake. She would just have to tough it out on her own. She just prayed they wouldn't hate her for this.

"You don't know him like I do Harry." She said, sounding convincing but cringing on the inside at the mere thought of having those words leave her mouth. _Yeah…he didn't know him like she did. Harry had no idea the reaches of a Malfoy's own selfish prospects_. She felt him squeeze her hand tightly to the point of pain. She hid it well though. Ron looked as if he were going to charge the both of them, but Harry turned, catching something of a look in Hermione's eye.

"Let's go Ron. Hermione's old enough to make her own decisions." He said, grabbing his friend by the arm and steering him towards a table across the room.

"I suppose…even if they are really stupid." Ron grumbled in slight confusion but also consumed with indignance. Hermione felt like dirt. No. She felt lower than dirt. She felt like some kind of death-eater. Hurting people like that was wrong. She knew Ron had feelings for her, Ginny had told her so on several occasions, and she knew Harry felt for her as any brother would, and she hated doing this to them. She only prayed they would forgive her before it was all said and done.

"Getting a little clingy are we now Granger?" Malfoy hissed, his lips only a breath away from her ear as soon as they were out of earshot. She forced a smile and turned to face him.

"Only to you Malfoy." She said slyly, freeing her hand from his and grabbing a quill from her bag as she took a seat. Draco looked a bit confused but took it for what it was and sat next to her at the two-seater desk. Hermione looked back over at Harry and Ron who already taken their seats. Both of them kept giving her glances over their shoulders, but she couldn't keep eye contact with them for more than a moment at a time, and therefore turned her attention to Professor Snape. She had been unaware that he had already stalked to the front of the room. He made a guttural noise to clear his throat and attract the class's attention.

"Ms. Granger," he articulated for the second time that day, looking her up and down in a cynical way that made her feel uncomfortable. She shifted in her seat, suddenly recognizing that all eyes were on her, including Draco's, who was smirking in triumph. "Why is it that you have not raised your hand to answer my question?" he asked, speaking with his nasally voice, standing in front of her desk and looking at her down his large nose as if looking down the barrel of a large gun. Before she could articulate an answer he spoke again. "Is it possible that you do not have the answer?" he asked with obvious satisfaction. Draco was having a field day to her right trying to keep down some sort of wicked cackling.

"I wasn't aware that you asked a question Sir." She said as calmly as she could. Had she really missed the question? Even so, he didn't have to humiliate her like that. Snape smirked again.

"That's never stopped you before. Ten points from Gryffindor unless you can come up with a spectacular excuse." He said sharply, causing a few of the Slytherin students to hiss with concealed laughter and the Gryffindors to moan with injustice.

"I'm sorry Sir, but Draco was asking me a question." She quipped quickly, hoping it would take the attention off of her. Draco seemed very unfazed by the whole ordeal. After all, she was talking to Professor Snape, evil potions master, and, above all, Head of Slytherin.

"It may be well thought of with Professor Kilgore, but discussions involving broom cupboards are not appropriate in my class." Snape jeered, causing Malfoy to smile a crooked smile and Hermione's cheeks to positively glow with embarrassment. How could he just say something like that? She was too much in shock to say anything at the moment. She was absolutely appalled. This was exactly what Draco wanted. Her half was the only half suffering in their _"relationship". _

"Professor, I don't believe that what we discuss is any of your business." Yeah…it definitely sounded cheesy and timid, but she was indignant, and unlike that rest of the world, she had no idea how to react to a professor. Had it been a student, it would have been completely different, but…she had no idea what to do. Snape turned curtly on one heel to face her, sneer gone and a cold stare and frown appearing on his worn face.

"Fifty points from Gryffindor thanks to Miss Granger." he growled. He turned back around to groans and taunting looks as he proceeded back to the front of the room. As soon as Snape was out of earshot she whipped towards Malfoy.

"Why didn't you say anything!" she demanded hissing it out all in one furious whisper. Her amber eyes blazed like fire. His were as cold as stone.

"I, unlike you, have a reputation to protect. And a promiscuous one at that." He said coolly. Even when she had punched him in third year, she had never been so indignant and furious. It was like a fire had started in her chest and the mere thought of having to hold her revenge until later was positively painful.

"I _don't_ have a reputation?" she shrieked at the lowest possible decibel level she could manage at the present time. Snape snapped his head in their direction, but Malfoy was looking intently at her and didn't notice.

"Don't argue Granger." He hissed with a curl of his upper lip. About the time he finished, Snape was sneering and standing behind Draco's chair.

"Since you so insist on disrupting my class, you will both serve detention in my office tonight." He drawled reprimandingly.

"Professor…" the two of them objected simultaneously. They looked at each other in confusion, noting how out of character it was for each of them to object to teachers in such a manner. _Since when does Malfoy object to anything Snape says?_ Hermione wondered while scrunching her nose slightly.

"Perhaps a week's worth would suit you better?" he threatened, looking at the down his long nose.

"No professor as she lowered her gaze in submission but filled with defiant rage. Satisfied with her response, he strutted back to the front of the room, pausing there a moment, reveling in the attention of the class of trained eyes upon him. He flicked the greasy hair from his face.

"Two rolls of the capturing and calming of Thestrals." He drawled quite suddenly, causing a few who had been tense to jump slightly. But after the momentary shock of speech wore off, Hermione could hear the muffled groans of the students. It almost sounded like the growling of some giant cat. Snape seated himself smugly behind Professor Kilgore's desk, and with a wave of his wand, every student's book flipped itself open to page 492. In large, splotchy black ink, the word _Thestrals_ was scribbled across the top of the paper. The same neat but slanted writing scrawled down the page, leaving only a blank rectangle as if a picture were there previously but was now missing. She was quite confused and looked to Malfoy's book to see if his was missing too. It was, but he didn't seem bothered by it in the least. The room swiftly adopted the sound of scratching quills as students jotted down notes and quotes for their paper. Hermione returned to her reading. It didn't take her long to realize why her picture was missing. Well, actually, it wasn't missing at all. She simply couldn't see it. Thestrals, according to the book, could only be seen by those who had witnessed death. She stole a glance at Malfoy. He was, surprisingly enough, working diligently as if it were commonplace for him to do his own work. She wondered if he could see the beast. Surely he couldn't. He moved his head as if to look at her and she quickly averted her gaze. She looked over to Ron and Harry. They were working quite intently as well. She knew that Harry would be able to see it, but she had a sneaking suspicion that Ron could not. She finally returned to her notes and reading. But the more she read, the more she found herself disliking these particular creatures. She had seen many horrible things, but death was a sight she never wished to experience. Lost in thought, she scarcely heard Professor Snape dismiss them. Class was over before she'd hardly begun.

"Next time, two rolls." He sneered from the front desk as the students packed their book bags and exited the classroom. Hermione tried to escape to Harry and Ron before Malfoy could catch her on her own, but a bloated Millicent Bulstrode blocked the isle, delaying her progress and giving Malfoy the one chance he needed. He walked up behind her, putting his hands on her hips and letting the slowly drift south. He was doing it just to get at her now. Her reputation had already been soiled, and she could only imagine what people thought about her. She quickly grabbed his hands in hers, holding them tightly as she spun around to face him with a convincing grin plastered to her face.

"Not now Draco. There is a time and a place for that, and this is neither." She reprimanded with a playful tone. She smiled with her lips but shot daggers with her eyes. Truth be told, there was no appropriate time or place with him. She was disgusted by his presence.

"Come now, _Darling_, you've never rejected me before." He said making sure all in the immediate vicinity could hear him. A few whispered rumors fled the room on the lips of some anxious Gryffindor girls. She looked around, seeing that Ron and Harry had already left, and turned back to Draco, a new fire in her eyes.

"Well I can't say that I've ever _endeavored_ to repeat unenjoyable experiences." She copped, making a suggestive glance downwards. If he was trying to ruin her reputation, two could play that game. A few hisses emitted from a nearby group of Slytherins as his smirk temporarily disappeared. His eyes flashed dangerously, and for a moment she was afraid he might strike her. He leaned in close, bringing his lips to her ear, no longer making his thoughts known to the general population.

"You should not impugn a Malfoy, it may very well be the last thing you ever do in your filthy little mudblood life." He threatened. Hermione stood defiantly and even though she wanted nothing more than to be on the opposite side of the world from him, she stood her ground. He leaned back and their eyes locked in a vicious stare that said what their words did not. She had long since released his hands and the two of them stood in tension before Hermione turned away. She had won many staring games in her life, but she got the impression that Malfoy had never lost. Of all his fiercest qualities, his eyes were the most terrifying.

"See you in detention." Draco said lowly as she left him standing there and walked swiftly from the room and back down the corridor from which she had come.


	12. Detention

**Chapter 11**

The rest of the day went much too slowly for Hermione. She was absolutely dreading detention and she could only imagine what horrendous chore Snape would have her doing. Charms and Herbology had both been completely boring and had left her time to finish her Defense essay. As of now she had no homework to speak of. Her detention started in another hour and she dared not pick up a time-consuming activity that would cause her to be late. She had returned to the common room, hoping to see some of her friends there, but only found a few gossiping second-years that would whisper intently amongst themselves and turn and glance at her periodically. She glanced up at the great grandfather clock that occupied a section of the wall in between the staircases leading up to the dorms. It read 5:00. She was scheduled to report to Snape's office at 6:00. She had no homework, although she was sure that could partially be attributed to the fact that Malfoy had caused her to miss Transfigurations the day before. She sighed with the frustration of having nothing to do with her time. As if on cue, Professor McGonogall entered the common room, followed closely by Draco Malfoy. It was as if she couldn't be away from him! It was bad enough that she had to lie about their "relationship", but having to see him every waking hour of her life was going to be the end of her. Hermione was near to outrage that Professor McGonogall would just allow a Slytherin student complete access to the Gryffindor tower; especially _that_ loathsome little louse.

"Miss Granger, I have come to collect you for your detention. If you will follow Mr. Malfoy and myself we shall begin." She announced with slight tilt at the corner of her mouth that made her look disappointed. Hermione nearly melted. Her heart sank at thought of disappointing her professors.

"But professor, our detention with Professor Snape doesn't start for another hour." She protested with a confused expression, looking at her and waiting for some kind of answer. Malfoy just stared at her over the professor's shoulder, and didn't even seem to calculate his surroundings. In fact, now that she got a good look at his face, he seemed much paler than usual and looked as if he may be sick. He seemed zoned out. The professor's voice snapped her attention away from Malfoy's face.

"Professor Snape will be unable to serve your detention this evening. So, instead of meeting in his office, he has left strict instructions that you are to be taken to the fifth floor corridor where you will serve your detention in the storage room." Hermione boiled at the sudden change, but did not argue or allow her frustration to show.

"Professor, may I change clothes before we leave?" she asked feeling slightly uncomfortable in the shortened skirt and shirt. She'd received looks all day, and she didn't want Malfoy to have another reason to.

"Very well." McGonogall yielded. Hermione proceeded up the stairs and changed into a holey pair of work jeans and a green tank. She threw a black hoodie over it and stuffed her wand in her right back pocket before heading back downstairs. McGonogall was waiting patiently, but Malfoy looked bored and as if he had regained some color.

"Let's be going." Professor McGonogall said as she ushered the two students out the portrait hole ahead of her. Draco shot Hermione a glare out of the corner of his eye, and she had to second-guess herself. Maybe she had previously been mistaken about his sickly appearance. The professor led them up several staircases and through countless corridors; some familiar, some not. Eventually, after a journey of stiff silence, they reached a tall slender doorway with a rotted piece of wood for he door. In front of the door on the floor, was a small roll of parchment with a black string tying it shut. McGonogall reached down to retrieve it and handed it then to Hermione.

"Now. Ms. Granger and Mr. Malfoy, you will follow the instructions on this list fully, and when you are finished you may return to your respective dorms. No distractions." She finished; looking pointedly at both of them before disappearing into the dark shadows of the corridor they had come from. By now the sun had set and there was hardly any light by which to see. Hermione studied the rotted door for a moment before reaching out and pulling it open. It wasn't very large and there was barely room for two people to stand. _How could this possibly be misconstrued for a two-person job? _She walked in the room and glanced to her left where a rickety-looking ladder leaned against the shelves on the wall. But as she followed its rungs skyward, they never seemed to end. Her mouth gaped slightly at the sight of it. The room was only just big enough for two people in width, but it had to be at least one hundred yards high. The room was lit without the aid of candles, so she assumed that the room must have been enchanted. Hermione had nearly forgotten the bit of parchment in her hand, and as soon as she realized it she began untying the string and reading it aloud.

_Ms. Granger and Mr. Malfoy_

_I have new stock. Put the boxed items outside the door in their appropriate places. No foolish behavior. I keep a strict inventory and should anything turn up missing, the consequences could be most unfortunate._

_Professor Snape_

Hermione rolled up the parchment and looked out the door. She didn't see the blonde weasel anywhere. _Great_. She walked out the door and looked to her right, down the opposite end of the hallway from which they had come. It was dark and difficult to see. She pulled her wand out of her back pocket and chanted,

"Lumos," as she had done countless other times in her stay at Hogwarts. Except this time, her wand did not provide her with the familiar, comforting light. She furrowed her brow with confusion and shook her wand frustratedly. "Lumos." She repeated, but meeting the same ends as before. She stepped cautiously out into the black hallway when something hard knocked into her forehead right above her temple. It surprised her and caused her to fall backwards in a combination of pain and panic. She landed square on her back and threw her hand up to cover her throbbing head. She heard something fall and shatter beside her. No doubt a vile of some sort. She cursed to herself silently and after finding herself able to stand again, did so, but this time, ready for another attack.

"Good going Granger." A familiar voice taunted from the shadows. She looked closely toward the source and could faintly make out the white top of Draco Malfoy's head. She could practically imagine the sneer on his face.

"No thanks to you Malfoy." She nearly shrieked in outrage. How could even he be so low as to attack someone so brutally when they weren't even looking? She felt for her wand hurriedly and aimed it as his face threateningly as he approached her, carrying a box of viles. Before she could even let the gasp of a curse pass her lips her interrupted.

"Put your wand away Granger. You can't use magic here." Pushing past her as if it were common knowledge and not giving her a second thought. Hermione wanted nothing more than to transfigure him into the hideous little weasel he was, but his threat had rooted itself in the back of mind. It enraged her that he had thought of the magic restriction before she had, even after experiencing herself, and it took everything she had in her to keep from taking hold of him and strangling him once her hands were free again. She followed him into the lit storage room and boiled as she watched him admiring the contents of several viles with his back turned to her. His confidence made her sick. Quite suddenly, a loud slam sounded behind her. It made her jump and she could have sworn she saw Malfoy flinch the tiniest bit. It was thunderous and echoed up the entire height of the room, bouncing from shelf to shelf as it ascended and became quieter. Both whipped around around to see nothing but a rotted oak door in their faces.

"The door…" Hermione began, putting her palms against its panels and pushing with her entire weight. Draco simply stood behind her, watching her struggle.

"Do you honestly think someone would have shut us in here without locking the door? Use your head Granger." He sneered frustratedly and in a condescending tone. He looked quickly around the small space they were in. Hermione whipped back around to face him, on the brink of accusing him for being responsible for the whole ordeal when a high-pitched laughter filled the room from above their heads. They both scowled as a familiar annoying specter met their gaze.

"Awwwww! Are the poor widdle students stuck in the widdle storewoom?" it teased from overhead.

"Peeves." She heard Malfoy hiss under his breath.

"You'll do well to undo that lock before I report you to professor McGonogall!" Hermione threatened weakly. Peeves just laughed and flew out of the room through the wall opposite the ladder.

"Nice one Granger. He's gone and I'm sure he's shaking in his shibbies now." He taunted, leaning as far away from her as he could get, but still within arms reach of her.

"You're not helping our situation Malfoy." Hermione countered.

"What situation? Snape will probably be here by morning to let us out." Draco reasoned harshly, crossing his arms.

"I'm sorry if I'm not resigned to spending the night in a cupboard with you quite yet Malfoy." She copped, reaching for the ladder. Draco reached out and grabbed her wrist roughly.

"And I'm not resigned to being so blatantly insulted by some no good-" he was cut short when Hermione wrenched her arm out of his grip and interjected.

"I swear if you ever touch me again you'll regret it." She spat viciously, looking somewhat like a wild animal in a cage, cornered in the small room. "And don't you threaten me. I won't believe you." She added, trying to keep her logical edge. Draco merely smirked at her and took a step closer, cornering her in the narrow shaft with hardly an inch between them. Hermione watched him warily, expecting him to strike her at any moment. He brought his face so close to hers that she could feel his cool breath on her cheek as she continued locking stares with him.

"Make me regret it." He hissed, grey eyes flashing. Hermione could feel the sick feeling crawling up her throat again. She began to shake, no matter how ferociously she tried to stop it. She couldn't understand why he scared her so much. She felt like she had no control when she was around him. Everything was just spiraling and freefalling. She averted her gaze to the ground beneath her feet. Hermione felt his hand touch her arm but did not look up to face him.

"Stop shaking Granger. There are forces you should fear more than me." He said distantly, wrapping his fingers around her upper arm and squeezing so tight that it was painful and she couldn't struggle away. Hermione looked up at him strangely. Something in the tone of his voice surprised her, and though she was afraid, she didn't fight him.

"Voldemort is on the prowl for you Granger." He whispered. Hermione couldn't understand. Was this some sort of cruel joke?

"What?" she questioned, confused as if she had been hit with some kind of confundus curse. He looked pale and sickly as when he had entered the common room with McGonogall earlier. His eyes glazed over as he stared at her fiercely and gripped her arm with every ounce of strength he could muster. Hermione squirmed now, but only momentarily before a paralyzing and impossibly painful jolt of thunder shot through her arm.

She felt her knees buckle as she fell the floor, kneeling in front of him and unable to pull away. Draco allowed her to fall and only tightened his grip and squatted to her level mechanically.

"Malfoy!" Hermione yelled in pain. Suddenly, as if jerked back by the sound of her scream, he flew away from her, knocking into the shelves on the other side of the shaft and falling to floor. She watched him warily as he lay there, seemingly unconscious. She cradled her arm painfully. It burned to touch it, and when she lifted the sleeve of her hoodie, she could see there were burn marks and bruises where his fingers had been. It was like some primitive, cruel tattoo. But as she turned her attention back to Malfoy, she started to become concerned. He didn't seem to be breathing. She crawled over to him and pressed her ear to his chest. She couldn't hear breaths.

"Malfoy. Wake up it's not funny." She said loudly and forcefully into his ear, trying to rouse him. And although she was terrified to wake him again, she couldn't just let him die. She folded her knees underneath her and opened his mouth, checking for obstructions in his airway, even though she was fairly sure there would be none. She went back to his chest and pulled up his oxford, bearing his torso. She was slightly surprised at how much he had grown since the previous year, but dismissed thought nearly as quickly as it had occurred. She felt for the end of his sternum, and pressed down rhythmically, mimicking the beating and pumping of his own heart. She drew back to his head and hesitated only briefly before she clamped his nose shut and pressed her lips to his. She breathed for him a few times and sat up. Nothing. She repeated the process only to come up with the same results.

"Maybe you are an ass, but that doesn't mean you can just die whenever you feel like it!" she yelled, slapping him on the cheek harshly, tears coming to her eyes. This couldn't be happening. Not now. Not with her. Surprisingly enough, it seemed to have worked. Draco coughed jaggedly and rolled to one side, gasping for air.

"Breathe Malfoy. Slow down and take deep breaths." She ordered, the tears still falling in relief. His breathing had become somewhat stable again and the coughing had stopped.

"Get away from me Granger." He warned as soon as he was able. Hermione couldn't possibly begin to understand him.

"You're such an egotistical loon Malfoy! Maybe I should have let you die!" she cried, reaching down and swinging and open hand towards his cheek out of spite. He went to knock her hand away, and caught her arm in mid-swing. He was weak right then, but he didn't even have to squeeze. Something happened that caused Hermione to retract her hand just as quickly as she had sent it flying down on him. An electric shock, much like the one she had experienced only moments ago, only less painful, jolted through her arm.

"I wasn't telling you to get away for my own health Granger." He spat dryly, watching her carefully. He had no idea what that shock was. It had never happened like that. Normally it didn't control him like that. It just observed. He wondered what was going through her head right then. He sat painfully against the shelves and tried to put on a face of false strength. He pulled down his shirt and composed himself a bit. Hermione sank back to the other side of the wall, touching her arm gingerly, hoping the pain would subside soon.

"You're bleeding." Draco said, breaking the uncomfortable silence that had stretched between them for what seemed like minutes. Hermione looked towards her arm.

"No. You're head." He said, gesturing towards her right temple. She considered him for a moment before touching her hand to her head. She drew it back and looked. Sure enough, blood was staining her hand. She rolled her eyes in frustration. _Wonderful._ She hadn't known it was bleeding. It must have been from the vile he'd thrown at her.

"It's your fault." She said, hostile once again at the renewed thought of his cowardice behavior earlier.

"My fault?" he questioned, looking rather defensive.

"You're the one that threw the vile at-" she trailed off, seeing the obvious look of disbelief on his face. It was now clear to her what had happened.

"-Peeves." She hissed, feeling slightly embarrassed to have falsely accused him twice in a row now. She was sure he wasn't appreciating it either. But, actually, she wasn't sure exactly why she cared. Draco sighed and leaned his head back to look at the top of the room where Peeves had flown through earlier. As soon as he got out of there, he was going to hex him into the next millennium. Hermione dabbed at her forehead with the sleeve of her hoodie as she suddenly saw Draco stand up. She was amazed at how quickly he seemed to have gained back his strength. He looked around the shelves as if he were searching for something. He looked from wall to wall for the mystery item. His searching finally stopped as he reached to a shelf right above his head and grabbed a long thin jar. It was labeled "_Lithal Cream_" It was filled with a light dark brownish syrup that resembled molasses.

"Here." He said, squatting down to her level and handing her the jar. Hermione hesitated momentarily, looking him directly in the eyes. She reached out and took the jar, brushing his fingers as she did so. The shock effect seemed to subsided and left nothing more than a slight buzzing sensation that was actually more pleasant than painful. He leaned back onto the adjacent wall and watched her intently as she studied the jar.

"It's not a trick. It's for your head." He said a bit more harshly than he'd intended. It was hard to be civil with her. It was almost instinct to be vicious. But, seeing as he'd just tried to kill her and she'd just saved his life, he thought it befitting to help her now. Even if she was a mud-blood. Hermnione heard him but did not look back at him. She went to twist the top and winced at the pain in her arm as she did so. She shut her eyes tightly to repel the tears and stopped breathing to suppress the sobs. She sniffed and opened her eyes, only to see Malfoy sitting there, hand extended for the jar. She felt ashamed to hold his gaze and so she looked away, still afraid that he might turn into that awful creature he had been a second ago. She heard s pop and saw him set the lid on the ground out of the corner of her eye. She closed her eyes, waiting for the worst. She felt something brush her forehead and flinched away in fear. Draco withdrew his hand.

"It's alright. I'm not going to hurt you." He reassured, putting his fingers again to her head, gently covering the cut with the syrup.

"How do I know that?" she said, eyes still shut. It stung but she refused to let him know it if she could help it. Draco sighed. At least he wasn't shocking her anymore.

"Trust me." He said, without looking at her. He knew what was coming next. Hermoine looked up at him with a furrowed brow, ignoring the vicious stinging that accompanied such a simple reaction.

"How can you ask me to do that?" she demanded softly, not quite finding her voice behind the lump in her throat. Draco stopped applying the syrup and reapplied the lid carefully. He contemplated the question.

"It wasn't me. I just wanted you to know that." He said, for once, not staring her down, but actually avoiding her gaze. He stood and set the jar back on the shelf, searching for yet another mysterious item. Hermione couldn't find anything to say to that and so she stayed silent, doing something she never thought she would. Malfoy stepped up a few rungs on the ladder before reaching for another jar. This one was square and was held shut only by some wax paper and twine. He came back and sat in front of her again.

"I need you to take off you shirt." He said, staring intently at the jar he was unwrapping. Hermoine knew why, but was still frightened of him and was reluctant to accommodate. She seemed dazed for a moment, but carefully and painfully managed to pull her hoodie off over her head. She sniffed the tears back again. She felt weak and helpless. She was out of control, and he terrified her.

"So you really are a Slytherin underneath." He made an attempt at a joke, but only the corner of her mouth twitched. He figured that reaction was better than others and so he took it for what it was.

"Why are you helping me?" Hermione asked suddenly, squinting her eyes in suspicion.

"Because. You helped me." He said simply, trying not to blow that out of proportion. He dipped his hand into the jar slowly and came out of it with a palmful of reddish liquid that held the consistency of lotion.

"This is going to sting a bit." He warned before setting the jar down and gently taking hold of her arm. He let the liquid drip from his palm and onto the burn. At first it didn't sting so bad, but as soon as her skin began to absorb it, she could feel herself starting to squirm. It was nearly as painful as the lightning that had cause it. Draco could see the pain on her face and admired her for not crying. Most people he knew probably would have. He wanted to tell her he was sorry for the pain he was causing her, but felt it inappropriate and so said nothing. After all the liquid had drained from his hand, he set his palm on her arm gently, caressing it and rubbing the leftover juices into her skin. He was careful not to press or rub too hard.

"How did you know what to use?" Hermione inquired, eyes shut to her, but voice steady and seemingly unbothered besides the lack of breath. Draco smirked even though she couldn't see it.

"My mother. When I was young I used to get into all sorts of trouble-" he was cut off.

"Used to get into trouble?" Hermione said. He knew she meant it in a amiable manner, but couldn't express it that way at the moment. She winced just after he'd said it and he realized that he must have been rubbing too hard. He leaned over and blew softly on it to dry it. He sat back after a moment and looked at her. She was prettier than Zambini gave her credit for.

"I have to say the types of trouble I get into are considerably different now." He responded, wiping his hand on his pants. Hermione felt the corner of her mouth twitch in a crooked sort of grin. It was the last thing she remembered before she awoke in the hospital wing to the blustered face of Madame Pomfrey bustling around her bed.


	13. The Encounter

**Chapter 12**

**The Encounter**

"Well it's about time you woke up!" she squawked as she fluttered about, lifting her eyelids uncomfortably and shining a bright light from the tip of her wand in them. Hermione tried to pull away, but the nurse was insistent on her check-up. "I've never kept a student who slept so much in all my days!" she whined loudly, finishing her check-up and placing her hands on her hips much like Mrs. Weasley would do if one of the children had left their rooms untidy.

"I daresay that's a bit of exaggeration Madame." Came the strong familiar voice of Professor McGonogall. She marched over the bed where Hermione lay and put a shaky palm to her forehead.

"Good morning Ms. Granger. I'm sure I have no need to inform you that this will be the second consecutive period you have missed my class." She reprimanded lightly, barely curling the corner of her impeccably perced lips.

"I'm sorry Professor. I'm prepared to make up the work and turn it in as soon as tomorrow." Hermione replied, suddenly realizing her reoccurring absence. She propped herself up on her elbows in an attempt to sit up, ignoring the lessened stinging in her arm, but the professor motioned her to lie again.

"I did not come to bother you Ms. Granger." She said with a curt smile that Hermione had always found to have a soothing, grandmotherly effect. "I only came to inform that the first Transfigurations Society meeting has been scheduled for tonight at six o' clock. I will understand if you feel unable to attend, but I must impress upon you the importance of this first gathering. Good day Ms. Granger." She said with a dip of her head before turning and striding away and out the large infirmary doors. Hermione watched her leave, and tried again to sit up. This time she was more careful of her arm, but did feel relieved that the pain had subsided greatly since she had first injured it. She found herself still in the green tank and jeans she had been in when she fell asleep, and felt a great urge to take a shower. She looked at her arm, which was wrapped and in a white sling. She lifted the top of bandage to see if she could get a better look at it. If it looked anything like it did before, it was sure to raise some suspicious questions. But just as soon as she had touched the bandage Madame Pomfrey came shuffling out of her office, a bottle and greenish liquid in her hand. She saw Hermione and at once yelled and hurried to her.

"Young woman do not disturb that bandage! It's there for a reason." She reprimanded, catching Hermione slightly off-guard and causing her to jump. Hermione didn't even have time to manage an apology before the short woman had poured a few drops of the liquid into a full glass of water and handed it to her.

"As soon as you finish this you may leave." She said with a curt nod as she shoved it into Hermione's hands. She turned and walked away without further incident. Hermione knew enough about Madame Pomfrey's medical concoctions to know that it would taste and smell horrendous and so saved herself the pain by gulping it down all at once. It made her throat feel as if it had been iced over and burned at the same time. But, unlike most medicinal potions, there was no overpowering flavor that left her absolutely sick afterwards. She wiped her mouth with her good arm and stood up from the bed. Her legs felt good to be operating again, and she had to wonder how long she'd been asleep. This was the second time this year she had passed out and not known the date upon waking, and she was quite tired of it already. Hermoine looked about and grabbed her hoodie, which had been lain across the back of one of the wicker chairs near her bed. Her wand was on the dresser near it and she shoved back into her pocket before exiting without so much as a word of thanks to Madame Pomfrey, who looked quite flustered and angry at the moment. Hermione had decided it would be best if she left quietly. On the way out there door, one could catch sight of a small calendar marking the days until break. She checked for the "X'ed" out days. She had been asleep for two days. _TWO DAYS!?_ She knew she hadn't been hit in the head that hard. It must have been Malfoy's doing. She knew better than to trust him. She left the hospital wing, slightly sore and irritated, hoodie in hand, and headed towards the Gryffindor common room. She bypassed the empty common room as soon as she arrived. They must still have been in their second period classes. Oh wonderful. She was missing potions. No doubt Malfoy was telling everyone what a horrible experience it had been to be stuck in a storeroom with Ms. Know-it-all, and how he had hexed her into next Wednesday and that was why she was in the hospital wing. Wait. Everyone still thought they were going out. He'd have to play the part. She sighed in confusion and massaged her temple before she felt the pain.

"Arrrr." She growled, biting her lower lip from the stinging. She was tired of being injured and having his handprints all over her body. Fortunately the bruises around her neck had lost most of their color before she had been unconscious, or else Madame Pomfrey would have known what was going on for sure. She trekked upstairs into the girls' dorms to find everything exactly where she'd left it. She glanced at her reflection in the mirror as she passed and found herself a mess. She grabbed a towel and her bathroom supplies and headed to the prefect's bathrooms.

The bathrooms were only a few corridors down and she didn't run into anyone due to classes, and was certainly glad to have the alone time to relax. She turned on the bathwater and let the large tub fill with scented soaps and bubbles. She liked the smell of lily the best and so allowed more of that scent than others. After the water was warm and bubbling, she stripped herself and stepped in, neck deep in the cleansing bath. The warmth on her skin was amazing and her muscles relaxed. Hermione sighed as her body soaked and thought about the complex Transfiguration essay that McGonogall had set in her absence. It wasn't due for another week, but it _was_ over animagus transformations-a subject she had hardly researched- and on top of it all, she had the Transfiguration Society later that evening. She felt ill prepared and understudied. At the same time though, curiosity consumed her about what sorts of advanced things they would be learning in the Society and who else would be invited. She had hardly ever stopped to think about anyone else's marks in the class, with the exception of Harry and Ron, who were constantly begging her to write their papers for them.

She smiled at the thought of the two of them trying to figure out animagus transformations without her. Then, as an afterthought, she frowned at the sudden reminder of how she had last left them. Ron had been outraged and Harry was strangely suspicious. At least Hermione could say that Harry knew her well. Ron was completely barking mad if he thought for one second that she would ever go out with Malfoy by her own free will. Then quite suddenly, and for really no reason at all, she became quite furious with Ron for not being able to tell the difference. She sighed deeply. Now she was never going to relax properly.

After a few minutes of frustrated dwelling, Hermione gave up her bath and dressed again in a new set of clothes. As she stuffed her wand into the inside pocket of her jacket she walked into the corridor, only to be completely surrounded by bustling girls. From the looks of their faces, most of them were first years, and a few second and thirds were scattered about. A few were whispering as they blocked her path.

"Get out of my way." Hermione demanded as they refused to let her through. "Out of my way before I dock you all house points." She threatened as she looked down at the crests on their robes. All four of the girls standing in her way were in Slytherin, and as she looked around, she was shocked to find one green, snake-embalmed patch after another. They were all Slytherins? Suddenly the girls moved out of the way, but not for Hermione-instead for Pansy Parkinson. Hermione knew immediately what this was about and reached her hand inside her jacket.

"I'm not here to hex you Granger. Not yet." Pansy spat in her high-pitched witchy little voice. It was like nails on a chalkboard, except worse. She scrunched up her pig-like nose in disgust and stepped towards Hermione as if she were going to try and push her back. But Hermione just stood her ground and refused to release the grip of her wand.

"Then what is it that you want so badly that you couldn't do it without every member of the Slytherin girl's dorms with you?" Hermione blazed, outraged but slightly nervous. She had to watch herself; there were a lot of Slytherins standing around her and professors were nowhere in sight. Pansy snorted at the comment. Hermoine couldn't help but notice how particularly hideous she was just then.

"I'm here to warn you Granger. Stay away from Draco. He's mine." She threatened while folding her arms in a very matter-of-fact way. Hermione wanted to laugh, but instead suppressed it to only a smirk. Merlin, this was pathetic. She suddenly relaxed and lowered her guard a bit.

"Look Pansy, if he wanted you, he would have chosen you." Almost as soon as the words had escaped her mouth, she wished them back. She wished she could just reach out and shovel them back in as if they never happened. But she couldn't and now she was going o have to deal with the consequences of such a remark. No doubt it would get her hexed. Pansy looked like an ugly parrot who had just had her feathers ruffled. Some excited whispers flew among the girls surrounding them and Pansy looked around as if the great urge to prove herself the Alpha was slipping from her grasp.

"I swear Granger, if you don't back off, bad things will start to happen to you." She warned pitifully. Hermione could honestly not believe she had just said that. All this over a jerk who didn't even like her in the first place? She would never understand the girl.

"Bad things will _start_ to happen to me? _Start?_ Honestly Pansy, I don't think you can top what I've been through in the past few weeks." She copped as she shoved her way past the squat girl and down the corridor with a little haste in her step. She would be grateful and lucky if at this point she walked away without some hideous new feature or limb. It seemed grace smiled upon her that day, because she walked away without a scratch and without another word from Pansy. She glanced at large Grandfather clock standing hear the archway to the Great Hall. It was a quarter before five. She had just enough time to eat and get to McGonogall's room before the meeting started. She walked in, trying to stay unnoticed, but recently it seemed to be getting harder and harder to accomplish. A few heads turned, but for the most part, the Hall was empty enough. Mostly she got glares from the Slytherin and even a few of the Gryffindors. She couldn't blame them, but at the same time, she wished she could tell somebody the truth. She looked up at the professor's table and saw Dumbledore looking down at her from over his half-moon spectacles. She couldn't hold gazes with him for too long before she looked away. She knew Dumbledore was a very wise and practiced wizard, and had no doubts that his suspicions had been raised as well. She continued on without missing a step and sat down at an isolated part of the long table. A plate appeared before her filled with roasted chicken and vegetables. A glass of pumpkin juice appeared next to it and a generous slice of carrot cake with a note attached. She noticed it immediately and picked it up. It read:

Compliments of Headmaster Dumbledore  
He wishes you the best of luck in your upcoming trials.

Hermione was quite confused and looked once again to the front table, only to find that the Headmaster had gone. She wondered what he meant by trials. Did he know? Surely he didn't know. She hadn't told anyone. She pushed it away for the moment as she noticed the time on the great Grandfather clock once again. Half-past five already! How could so much time have passed without her knowing. Hermione gulped down what she could of her chicken and pumpkin juice and took a large bite of the carrot cake before heading out of the Great Hall in a hurry. Me: Hey guys! I knowit's been forever since i've posted, but school kinda got in the way...bleh. Anywho, I hope you like this chapter! Hopefully I'll be writing more and more chapters more often! YAY! Let me know what you think! MAUHS!


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